A quick, effective thank you note sent to your interviewer reinforces your interest in the job and may help him or her remember you better from the giant pool of applicants. But you might wonder whether you should pen or email your thanks.

The Simple Dollar blog breaks down the standard thank you note into four simple but vital pieces,…
Read more Read more

Jessica Liebman, Managing Editor of Business Insider, who's responsible for the site's editorial hiring, strongly advises email, saying handwritten thank you's feel ancient and formal, and have too much of a delivery delay. Email, on the other hand, you know will get into the interviewer's inbox.

Personally, I disagree, however—or, at least, I think it depends on the situation. If the company you're applying to is a very formal or traditional company or you want to stand out in some way from the other applicants, a nice handwritten note might be effective. Your email could easily be lost in the interviewer's inbox, whereas snail mail might be less likely to be buried. If you have atrocious penmanship, though, go the email route, of course.

Advertisement

Job search site Monster echoes my thoughts on the formal/traditional company need for a mailed note, but suggests typing the thank you note out. However, they also say if the company used email to set up the interview with you, an email thank you note is fine, but you should also follow up with a mailed note (wow).

To add more food for thought, About.com's Job Searching site notes "surveys report that more than half of hiring managers prefer a handwritten note to an email."

There are lots of differing opinions and perspectives in the comments on the Business Insider article, but what do you think?